The Five Best Concerts in L.A. This Week

Summer Twins

Summer Twins
THE SATELLITE
Summer's here and the time is right for a pure-pop escape. Sisters Chelsea (lead vocals and guitar) and Justine Brown (drums) lay down a simple, unabashedly irony-free form of pop that layers '60s garage rock with dreamy harmonies. "I'm just a piece of gum stuck under your shoe," Chelsea confesses on the heartfelt valentine "The More I Think of You," but that's about as dark as it gets, as she and her sister playfully and wistfully kick the tune down the road. The 20-something Browns started out in Riverside as a duo, but they've gained more oomph with recent additions Michael Rey Villavicencio (bass) and Marcio Rivera (guitar). Summer Twins' literal and metaphoric sun-worshipping invites comparisons to Best Coast, but they reveal their own style and versatility on rambling odes like "The Good Life." --Falling James

Tuesday, August 28

Divine Fits
HOLLYWOOD FOREVER
Indie-inclined readers already know about Divine Fits: a notionally L.A.-based supergroup featuring Spoon frontman Britt Daniel, New Bomb Turks drummer Sam Brown and Dan Boeckner of Wolf Parade and Handsome Furs. They've been playing around town (including gigs at the Bootleg and Hotel Cafe) in the run-up to their sort-of-self-titled debut, A Thing Called Divine Fits, and tonight they celebrate its release with a cemetery show well suited to the spooky-creepy keyboard settings that earned them a slot at October's Moogfest. Speaking of which, the band's record leans a little heavily on those atmospherics for our taste; we could've done with a bit more of Daniel's terse, soul-pop economy. But, hey, stretching out is why dudes do side projects, right? Also Sept. 4 at the Echo. --Mikael Wood

Wednesday, August 29

Herbie Hancock
HOLLYWOOD BOWL
The Dalai Lama. Nelson Mandela. Gandhi. Herbie Hancock. Perhaps that last name seems strange next to the others, but the legendary jazz pianist was named last year by the United Nations as a Goodwill Ambassador for Intercultural Dialogues, an honor likely bestowed upon him because of his 2010 Imagine Project, a multicultural musical treatment of John Lennon's profound vision. Hancock has rededicated his life to promoting world peace; it's pretty much all that's left for him to do, considering his monumental artistic achievements. This concert is aptly titled "Celebrating Peace" and features a load of peace-loving artists, including iconic saxophonist Wayne Shorter, bassists Dave Holland and Marcus Miller, drummer Cindy Blackman Santana and special guest Carlos Santana. Leave it to Herbie to turn "Kumbaya" into the hippest shit ever. --Gary Fukushima